Education - books

The teacher requiring the book does not make buying the book a condition of enrollment. The institution requiring that you buy, and pay for the books, before enrolling is a condition of enrollment.

It's not even that simple. Even if the book were required for the course, it's not includible for Hope/LL Credit unless you were required to buy it as a condition of enrollment. If you can get it from the bookstore or e-bay or used from a previous student it doesn't count. Lab workbooks come to mind as potentially includible.

-- Don EA in Upstate NY

Did your course curriculum list "required books" or not? If it did, then those books are required as a condition of enrollment; if not, then they are not.

IRS training material (for VITA volunteers) when these credits were first available went into this in greater depth. At that time, the IRS was instructing us that you could only claim books if the student paid the school directly as part of a tuition and fee bill and not if the student purchased at a bookstore. For example, if you were taking a chemistry lab and the lab book was included in the fee and issued to the student on the first day of class. Training material in later years has not included this level of detail and I've heard a wide range of contradictory instructions on this topic from the IRS.

-Crystal

The books referred to are those that you MUST purchase, as a condition of enrollment in the class. These can only be obtained from the school (not the school bookstore, online or any other bookseller). In general, you will rarely run into this exact situation.

It's been awhile since I was in college and my memory may be failing me but every student in a class knew what books were required and what books were not required. In addition, the rules state the funds must be paid to the institution for the required text. It's the "paid to the institution" rule that disqualifies a lot of books, supplies and equipment.

I think that refers to a college's requirement that required books be purchased from the college bookstore only. See publication 970. ChEAr$, Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

Required text books are usually listed on a handout (for us old folks) or more likely today, on the web site for that course.

-- Vic Roberts Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

I think this requirement refers to a situation like when you register for CFP classes taught through the College for Financial Planning in Denver. You pay your fee to the school and they send you the books for that class. You cannot buy the books through any bookstore, nor would you want to buy them used since the information changes from year to year. Linda Dorfmont E.A., CFP, CSA

I agree with Linda. This is not referring to the typical textbook. Form 8863 instructions say, in part, "Qualified education expenses do not include amounts paid for: Course-related books, supplies, equipment, and nonacademic activities, except for fees required to be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance." Reg. 1.25A-2(d)(2)(ii) says: "(ii) Books, supplies, and equipment. Qualified tuition and related expenses include fees for books, supplies, and equipment used in a course of study only if the fees must be paid to the eligible educational institution for the enrollment or attendance of the student at the institution." Note the word "must." AFAIK most colleges and universities allow you to purchase your books from any source. Amazon has an extensive collections and there are a number of web sites offering used texts. The schools prefer you buy from their bookstore but I am not aware of any that mandate that you buy from them.

-- Drew Edmundson, CPA Cary, NC